Makeshift Family
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Spoilers up to "Andromeda". Amelia and Sheldon anxiously await their daughter's arrival. Amelia/Sheldon


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Private Practice and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: I love the "Man falls in love with a woman while she's pregnant with another man's baby and raises it as his own" trope. I don't know why, and I hope this happens with Sheldon and Amelia.

**Warning: **Semi-graphic birth.

* * *

><p>An extremely tired and bored Amelia Shepherd just wanted to have her baby already – She knew she wasn't making it easy for her friends and co-workers, snapping at them for just trying to help. But she was already a week overdue and her already extremely stubborn daughter was content to stay in the womb. Luckily, Sheldon had the patience to handle her mood swings (The crying had never seemed to let up) and did anything she asked. It was one of the main reasons Amelia had fallen in love with him – Not that she had told him that, however. She was terrified – Of a potential relationship not working out, of being a mother, etc. These thoughts kept her awake at night sometimes, which just drove the doctor even more nuts.<p>

"You doing okay?" Sheldon popped into Amelia's office to check on her yet again. Sometimes this irritated her, but other times, like today, she thought it was sweet. She rolled her eyes anyway.

"I'm fine. Baby Girl is currently sleeping, which means I can relax. For now at least. My ankles are killing me again." She couldn't wait until she could wear shoes again. Amelia loved slippers, but she was getting sick of wearing them all the time.

He smiled. "I'll massage them later." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, then walked away. Amelia smiled after him.

They still hadn't talked all that much about the changes in their friendship. Amelia knew they needed to deal with it soon, especially with the baby coming any day now. She winced at a sudden sharp pain that shot up her back, but mostly ignored it. Back pain wasn't a new problem and she was used to it now. "Alright, Baby Girl, let's go find Aunt Addison." Amelia got up and went to go find her former sister-in-law.

Addison and Violet were drinking coffee in the break room and talking. "Hey, how you are you feeling?" Violet smiled at her.

"Like shit. You were knocked up, how do you think I feel?"

Addison stifled a laugh and Violet ignored Amelia's comment. "I'm surprised Sheldon didn't follow you in here." Addison thought Sheldon and Amelia were good for each other and was very vocal about her feelings on the matter.

"He just checked on me. I don't know why he's so worried anyway." Amelia shifted uncomfortably and then gasped as another sharp pain shot up her back.

Addison frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing – My back just hurts. It comes and goes." She sighed and then tried to find a comfortable position, which was practically impossible.

Violet and Addison exchanged a look – They both suspected what was going on with Amelia, but didn't mention it yet – They wanted her to catch up to what occurring. "Well, what are you plans for today?" Violet didn't mention she already suspected how this day would end.

Amelia shrugged. "Don't know. Sheldon and I were talking about going out to eat after work is over, but I'm not sure if I'm up for that."

"Well, do whatever makes you comfortable." Addison watched her closely.

Amelia went to answer, but stopped dead in her tracks when she felt something trickle down her leg. She looked down. "I think my water just broke."

"Come on, sit down." Violet helped lead her over to a chair to get comfortable.

"Do you want me to get you some clean clothes?" Addison wasn't sure where they were, but she'd get them.

Amelia started to answer then cried out in pain as a painful contracted lanced across her abdomen. "Fuck, that hurt! Get Sheldon, please? I want him."

"Of course." Addison rushed to go find him, while Violet helped coach Amelia through the contraction. Amelia sighed in relief when Sheldon bolted into the room.

"Hey! How are you doing? Why didn't you tell me earlier you were in labor?"

"I didn't know! Come over here now." Amelia hugged him in relief when Sheldon finally joined her, and he hugged her back.

"The contractions are about three minutes apart. You really didn't know?" Violet questioned after Amelia buried herself in Sheldon's shoulder during an intense contraction.

She shook her head. "My back hurt, but that's been par for the course these past few weeks. I didn't think anything of it. Fuck!" She bit back a sob – She was going to have to get used to this. Amelia was reluctantly going with a natural childbirth since she refused to take anything for the pain. She didn't want to take the risk.

Sheldon stroked her back, hoping to ease the pain. "Why don't we go to the hospital now? You okay with that, Baby?"

She nodded and he helped her up. Amelia leaned on him for support and also held Addison's hand as Violet headed to get her car to drive them to the hospital. They got there quickly.

"Don't leave me," Amelia pleaded with Sheldon once she was situated in her room. She didn't know why she was so insecure, but she didn't care at the moment.

"I'm not planning on it. I've been with you every step of the way and I'm not missing a damn thing now." Sheldon brushed the hair out of Amelia's face and then didn't complain when she grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard.

"I fucking hate this. How did my mother do this five times?" She groaned in pain and wished she had more of a break between contractions, but the labor seemed to be accelerating pretty fast now that her water had broken.

Sheldon shrugged and then kissed her forehead again. "I don't know, but you do seem to be doing pretty well right now and that's all the matters. Just think of Baby Girl – That's who you're doing this for."

"What if I fucked her up?" That was still a lingering fear of Amelia's one that no one could quench.

"Hey, what did I tell you about thinking positive? Don't worry about that now, Baby. If something is wrong with her when she comes out, worry then. Don't do it now." He had been reassuring her for months, but Amelia had always been worried that her drug and alcohol abuse had hurt their baby. (And he didn't know when he had started thinking of Amelia's daughter as "theirs", but it had happened rather quickly.)

Amelia's OB/GYN entered the room to check on her. "Almost there, Doctor Shepherd! You're nine centimeters dilated. Shouldn't be long now. I'll be back soon to monitor your progress." She left the room again.

Within the hour, Amelia was ready to give up. "Just make it stop, Sheldon. Please, please, please get this baby out of me."

"I would if I could, you know that. But you're almost there." Sheldon smiled encouragingly at her and hoped it was enough to calm her down.

"I have to push!" She cried out in pain as another contraction sheered through her body and struggled not to give in to what her body was telling her to do. Luckily for Amelia, her doctor entered the room within a few minutes.

"Alright, let's get you to the delivery room, Doctor Shepherd!"

"Sheldon, stay with me!" Amelia grabbed his hand and refused to let go.

"I'm staying right with you – I'm not leaving your side." He followed the hospital bed down to the delivery room.

Amelia was bearing down and pushing just seconds after entering, Sheldon encouraging her the whole time. She screamed when the baby started to crown, especially because of the burning sensation that accompanied it.

"Just a few more pushes and you got this! You're doing so well." Sheldon couldn't believe this was happening – He was finally going to meet the baby he had been excited about for months, once he had accepted Amelia's news.

"Fuck you and your few more pushes. Sorry!" She gave one last big push and sighed in relief when the baby slipped out.

"Congratulations, you have a daughter!"

"Did you hear that, Amelia? We have a daughter!" Sheldon nearly cried in relief when the baby let out a loud wail. After the placenta was taken care of and the baby examined, the newborn was handed to her sobbing, sweaty mother.

"Is she okay?" Amelia thought she was perfect, but she needed to make sure.

"She's perfectly healthy," the doctor assured her. She and the nurses left the new family alone.

"Baby Girl is so beautiful – And so are you. I'm so proud of you, Amelia." Sheldon couldn't stop staring at the baby.

"Thanks. But I couldn't have done it without you." Amelia meant it – She never would have gotten through her pregnancy without Sheldon's help.

The baby cried and then settled down. Sheldon kissed her and then looked up at Amelia. "I love you, you know that?" He wasn't backing away from his feelings.

Amelia wasn't either. She shifted the baby around and then replied to him. "I love you, too. I should have told you sooner, but I was stupid and scared to let you in. But I think I've felt this way for a while now."

Sheldon laughed in relief. He kissed Amelia again, this time on the lips. "I'm so glad you said that."

"You're perfect, Baby Girl. And you have lots of aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandma who are very excited to meet you." Amelia was looking forward to her family's visit, but also dreading it at the same time. Nancy was probably going to be judgmental as always, but Kathleen had been supportive the entire time, Derek was excited and had offered to help out, and Lauren was probably going to spoil her new niece rotten. Her mother was just excited to have a new grandchild.

"Did you ever come up with a name? We can't keep her calling her Baby Girl." Sheldon and Amelia had been debating names, but they had never really settled on anything.

Amelia nodded again. "I chose Johanna Rhiannon Ella Shepherd." As if she knew she had been named, Johanna gurgled.

"That's long. I'm guessing Rhiannon is after your favorite Fleetwood Mac song." Sheldon was used to Amelia blasting the band on repeat for hours.

She nodded. "And it's close to Ryan – I wanted her to have something of her biological father's. Ella comes from your last name. I was thinking of Alice, but I didn't like it. So Ella was formed out of Wallace, and that's how I got it. I wanted to honor one of the best men I've ever known."

He blinked back tears. "Thank you so much. I don't even know what to say." He was honored that Amelia had thought of him and had included his name in Johanna's.

Addison's impatience finally got the best of her ten minutes later, and she snapped a picture of the new family of three on her camera. It was a picture they always treasured, even though Amelia "looked like shit". Shortly afterwards, the whole group met Johanna Shepherd.

It had been a rollercoaster of moments for Amelia ever since she had fallen off the wagon, but she wouldn't trade her daughter or Sheldon for anything. She loved them more than she thought possible.

Sheldon had never expected to fall in love with Amelia, or help her through the pregnancy, but he wouldn't trade his family for anything. Genetics be damned, Johanna was his daughter and he was always going to be there for her.

Sheldon, Amelia, and Johanna were a family and nothing would be able to ruin that. Their love for each other prevailed over anything that tried to get in their way.


End file.
